Out of their Trees - no. 1

Those who know me know how passionate I am about genealogy. It's one of my claims to fame. I've been on John Holmes's Radio Nottingham programme a few times researching his family tree. Recently I've come to a dead end. But it doesn't stop me researching other people, and, as I mentioned in an earlier entry, I'm researching local ancestries of LGBT people.

The latest to be added is Ellen DeGeneres.The DeGeneres family are, as you might have guessed, French in origin. One of Ellen's first DeGeneres ancestors to be American-born was Henry. Through his wife Nora Dulany (1818-1911), Ellen descends from early colonists, including Henry Lowe (1652-1717) from Derbyshire. Henry Lowe himself descends from the mighty Bess of Hardwick. An interesting link is to Capt. Mainwaring himself, Arthur Lowe - he comes from the same family.

Ellen also descends from the Pierreponts of Holme Pierrepont and Thoresby. One LGBT cousin is Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (nee Pierrepont), who had a teenage affair with Anne Wortley. After Anne's early death Mary's father planned to marry her off to a nobleman called Clotworthy Skeffington (honestly, no kidding, that's his name!). Fortunately Mary had a better idea and eloped with her late girlfriend's brother Edward Wortley Montagu. The couple went to Turkey where Edward was ambassador, and whilst there Mary learnt of inoculation against smallpox. On returning to England she persuaded sceptical doctors to introduce it here.

I'll put more about Lady Mary in the Heritage Trail section. Other LGBT relatives through the Pierreponts include the 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton MP and actor Rupert Everett.Ellen DeGeneres also descends from the brother of Sir William Neville, Constable of Nottingham Castle from 1381, one half of the city's earliest same-sex marriage (actual Catholic church marriage, that is, not a medieval equivalent of a civil partnership).

To return to Nottinghamshire's Rainbow Heritage click http://www.nottsrainbowheritage.org.uk